Hyundai HD36L Maxculado

Like the exterior, the interior of the Hyundai HD36L Maxculado has also begun to show its age, with the dashboard design taking you back in the memory lanes of two decades ago. However, for its price and size, the cabin of the HD36L Maxculado is decently equipped and practical with enough room for three adults at its best.

The cabin of the Hyundai HD36L Maxculado is being offered with two upholstery options – artificial leather and cloth, with the cabin having an all-grey theme executed all around. The dashboard here faux wood finish around the instrument console and the entire centre console, which has a rounded design towards the outer side and is faced towards the driver.

The overall instrument console of the HD36L Maxculado is an all-analogue affair, while the centre console also looks very basic with controls for manual AC at the top, a 1-DIN audio system in the middle and an array of switches at the bottom. The right side of the centre console has a vertical cavity for small storage spaces and AC vents. The cabin also gets a four-spoke curved-themed steering wheel and a car-like transmission lever, which feels good to hold and use.

The overall design of the Hyundai HD36L Maxculado looks proportionate, but at the same time, it has existed too long without much change in all these years. Due to this, the HD36L Maxculado looks dated by modern standards and desperately needs an upgrade to its design.

At the front, the Hyundai HD36L Maxculado has a simple design, comprising of a large windshield with rounded edges on all four corners in the upper half and the apron, grille and headlamps in the lower half. The apron looks plain with a rounded rectangular grille in the middle at the bottom, which comes with horizontal slats within it.

The large-sized trapezoidal headlamps are positioned on the lower corners of the front apron and are all-halogen units with amber turn indicators on the outer sides. The front bumper is also body-coloured and comes with rounded trapezoidal fog lamps integrated into the corners.

The door panels on the side profile of the Hyundai HD36L Maxculado have a couple of character creases, such as an uprising curve emerging from the headlamps and the zig-zag window waistline. The side profile of this small commercial truck also comes with large-sized rearview mirrors and squared wheel arches. The upper corners of the roof also come with auxiliary emergency lights. Here, the rearview mirrors also come with a heating function, a unique add-on for a small commercial vehicle of its price.

The Hyundai HD36L Maxculado measures 5310mm long, 1760mm wide and 2200mm tall, and with a turning radius of 5.8 metres, it is quite an easy truck to manoeuvre in the tight traffic conditions of the city. The HD36L Maxculado also has a ground clearance of 165mm and comes with a suspension combination of semi-elliptic, laminated leaf springs with front/rear shock absorbers at both front and rear.

The only engine option which is offered in the Hyundai HD36L Maxculado for the Philippines is a 2.5-litre four-cylinder diesel engine, which has remained the mainstay of Hyundai’s commercial vehicle lineup for a long time now. Equipped with a 6-speed manual transmission offered as standard, this engine produces a maximum power output of 130 PS and a peak torque output of 255 Nm.

Being a functional commercial vehicle which is priced affordably, the Hyundai HD36L Maxculado doesn’t come with many safety features on board. However, the truck feels sturdily built with its rigid frame, stabilizer bar and high-capacity axle and leaf springs.

The Hyundai HD36L Maxculado might be one of the oldest offerings on sale in the small commercial vehicle category. However, it impresses with its reliability, decent levels of equipment and durable diesel engine.